Edge of the City is a 1957 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt, starring John Cassavetes and Sidney Poitier. It was Ritt's debut film as a director. Robert Alan Aurthur's screenplay was expanded from his original script, staged as the final episode of Philco Television Playhouse, A Man Is Ten Feet Tall , also featuring Poitier. The film was considered unusual for its time because of its portrayal of an interracial friendship, and was praised by representatives of the NAACP, Urban League, American Jewish Committee and Interfaith Council because of its portrayal of racial brotherhood.... Young drifter Axel Nordmann arrives at the waterfront on the west side of Manhattan, seeking employment as a longshoreman, and giving his name as "Alex North." He goes to work in a gang of stevedores headed by Charlie Malik a vicious bully, and is befriended by Tommy Tyler , who also supervises a stevedore gang. Malik resents blacks in positions of authority, and is antagonized when Axel goes to work for Tommy.
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| Release date: | January 29, 1957 |
| Directed by: | Martin Ritt |
| Runtime: | 85 Minutes |
| Producer: | David Susskind |